Organic dairy co-op to pay for some greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts
Plus, Canada approves popular feed ingredient to reduce enteric emissions.
Organic Valley recently announced it will pay some farmers participating in its carbon insetting program for their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The initial projects eligible for payment to participating farmers include: planting trees in actively grazed cow pastures, renewable energy installations made on farms, upgrades to manure management handling and storage facilities, and reimbursement for feeding enteric emission-reducing supplements.
“These are real funds for farmers taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.,” says co-op CEO Jeff Frank. “As a cooperative business, we are committed to these organic farmers with long-term agreements and relationships, and the farmers are committed to us with verified carbon reductions and, of course, organic milk.”
The co-op claims it already has one of the lowest carbon footprints of milk in the U.S. and that these efforts will further decrease its carbon emissions.
Read more here.
Dairy management software provider launches new data analysis platform
A long-time player in dairy herd management software recently announced a new data analysis platform to aid dairy producers. While announcing its new platform, called HerdHQ, Dairy Records Management Systems (DRMS) suggested its latest product will “revolutionize” on-farm decision-making. The new platform currently contains six applications for dairy producers and their advisers with the intention to add more in the future.
The six new applications include 1) a cow and heifer lookup portal 2) a customizable dashboard with over 100 pre-loaded tables and charts, 3) a new herd management app, 4) a test day data and peer herd comparison application, 5) a beef-on-dairy evaluation tool and 6) a selective dry cow therapy evaluation tool.
The platform can be accessed from any device using the internet and a web browser.
Video game to teach cow moving skills now available for download
After years of programming and development, the brainchild of University of Wisconsin – Madison researcher Jennifer Van Os is now available for download on iOS (Apple) and Google Play (Android) app stores. The university recently announced Van Os’ educational video game called “Mooving Cows” is now publicly available to download and play. The game gives dairy workers and anyone interested in cows the opportunity to practice their cow handling skills.
The idea for the game arose from feedback received from Wisconsin dairy producers. The game can be played in English or Spanish, and it takes around 30 minutes to complete. People who successfully complete all levels receive a certificate of completion.
Read more about it here.
Canada approves popular feed ingredient to reduce enteric emissions from cattle
Canada recently announced approval for DSM’s feed ingredient Bovaer, a research-backed product that is proven to immediately and effectively reduce methane emissions from cattle.
The country is the second in North America to have access to the long-awaited methane-inhibiting technology. It’s now commercially available in 58 countries and has been tested in over 65 farm trials across 20 countries, resulting in over 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
The largest trial of the product ever completed was done in Alberta with 15,000 beef cattle. That trial showed methane reductions of up to 82%.
It’s expected that feeding the ingredient to dairy cows could lower the overall greenhouse gas footprint per liter of milk by 10%-15%. The product has not yet been approved for use in the U.S.
To learn more about the product, click here.
Cow tech startups announce collaboration
Two up-and-coming cow tech companies recently announced a commitment to collaborate. Dairy Performance Network agreed to partner with Cattle Care to help make sure the data generated from Cattle Care’s computer vision enhances dairy operations.
“Our product delivers data on milking procedures to dairies. DPN ensures this data is fully utilized,” says Artem Timanov, CEO of Cattle Care.
“This collaboration allows us to enhance and improve our on-farm training strategies, says Manny Salcedo.
Early cattle disease detection technologies making steady advancements
Read about two technologies that are making headway in the beef cattle industry.
Dairy profit projections from ZISK
Projected profitability for the next 12 months for two dairy herd sizes
INCREASED
in recent profit projections from ZISK.
ZISK is a profit-projection smartphone app that tracks individual dairy farm profitability based on current CME board prices. Projections for a 1,000-cow dairy producing an average of 80 pounds of milk per cow and a 2,500-cow dairy producing an average of 85 pounds of milk per cow are provided.
12-month dairy farm profit projections (as of Feb. 8, 2024):
1,000-cow dairy = $492,300 (UP about $221,700 since the start of the year)
2,500-cow dairy = $1.952 million (UP about $642,000 since the start of the year)